Class 9, Beehive Poem --- A Legend of Northland by Phoebe Cary About The Poet Phoebe Cary Phoebe Cary (September 4, 1824 – July 31, 1871) was an American poet, and the younger sister of poet Alice Cary (1820–1871). The sisters co-published poems in 1849, and then each went on to publish volumes of her own. After their deaths in 1871, joint anthologies of the sisters' unpublished poems were also compiled. Phoebe Cary was born on September 4, 1824, in Mount Healthy, Ohio near Cincinnati, and she and her sister Alice were raised on the Clovernook farm in North College Hill, Ohio. While they occasionally attended school, the sisters were often needed to work at home and so were largely self-educated. The sisters' mother died in 1835, and two years afterward their father married again. The stepmother was wholly unsympathetic regarding their literary aspirations. More outgoing than her sister, Phoebe was a champion of women's rights and for a short time edited The Revolution, a newspaper published by Susan B. Anthony. In 1848, their poetry was published in the anthology Female Poets of America edited by Rufus Wilmot Griswold and, with his help, Poems of Alice and Phoebe Cary was published in 1849. Poet Name Phoebe Cary Born 4 September 1822, Mount Healthy, Ohio, United States Died 31 July 1871, Newport, Rhode Island, United States Nationality American Genre prose Siblings Alice Cary A Legend of the Northland - Introduction ‘A legend of the Northland’ is a ballad. A ballad is a poem narrating a story in short stanzas. Ballad is such kind of poem which tells a story in short stanzas and in the poem all the stanzas comprise four lines. In total, there are 16 stanzas in this poem and these stanzas will tell us a story. Ballads are a part of folk culture or popular culture and are passed on orally from one generation to the next. (Folk culture is a story of any area and is known as ballad). Folk culture comprises of traditional stories which are passed on from one generation to next generation. This story is of the Northland area, the area which is near the North Pole. This exact place is not specified but ‘Northland’ means the area in the northernmost part of the earth i.e., near the North Pole. ‘Legend’ means a historical story, one which is very old and has been passed on from generation to generation. This poem is a legend about an old lady who angered Saint Peter because of her greed. The poem is simple but teaches us a moral lesson that we should not be greedy. We must help the poor and hungry people. Human city is above all. It is the only quality that differentiates us from the animals. So, we should be compassionate towards those who genuinely need our help. Only then we can become a perfect human being. By not giving food to hungry Peter, the old lady provokes his anger who punishes her by turning her into a woodpecker. Summary of the Poem - 1 In this poem, the poetess tells us a story of the Northland. At that time Saint Peter lived on the earth. He used to go round the world to preach people whom he met on the way. One day, he came to the door of a cottage where a little woman was making cakes and baking them on the hearth. Saint Peter had eaten nothing the whole day. So, he was fainting with hunger. He asked the lady to give him a piece of cake. The woman was greedy and selfish. Giving something to anyone was a very difficult task for her. The cake that she was baking appeared to be too big. So she made a small cake for the hungry saint. But that also appeared to be too big to give away. So she made another one which was smaller even than the first. But when it was ready, it appeared to be big so she did not give him that also. Then she took an extremely little scrap of dough and rolled it flat. She had it as thin as a wafer but she was too greedy to part with even this cake and put it on the shelf. This angered Saint Peter a lot. He told the greedy lady that she was not fit to live in the world in human form and enjoy food and shelter and warmth of fire. He cursed her and transformed her into a woodpecker who has to bore in the dry wood hard to get its scanty food. She can be seen in the wood where she still lives and keeps boring trees for her food all the day. ************************* Poem and Explanation Stanza 1 Away, away in the Northland, Where the hours of the day are few, And the nights are so long in winter That they cannot sleep them through; In the region around the North Pole (Northland), the duration of the day is very less because its position is such that the Sun’s rays reach for a very less time. When this area is experiencing winter season, the duration of night is very long, and the day time hours are very less. In line 4, ‘they’ refers to the people who live in this region. The poet says that the duration of the night time is so long that the people cannot sleep them through. If they go to bed, take a few hours of sleep and then, they wake up, it is still night time. He wants to emphasize on the fact that the duration of the night is very long. Stanza 2 Where they harness the swift reindeer To the sledges, when it snows; And the children look like bear’s cubs In their funny, furry clothes: Sledges: a vehicle on runners for conveying loads or passengers over snow or ice, often pulled by draught animals. To harness means to tie the reindeers with a rope to a sledge so that it can be used for transportation. Swift: something which runs very fast The Northland region experiences severe cold conditions. It is a snowy area. The reindeer is an animal which is found in this polar region. People tie the reindeers to sledges and then the reindeers pull the sledges. He adds that the children lo ok like young ones of a bear because they wear funny looking clothes made of fur which is like the furry skin of a bear. Stanza 3 They tell them a curious story — I don’t believe ’tis true; And yet you may learn a lesson If I tell the tale to you. Curious: strange In line 1 ‘they’ refers to the parents or elders and ‘them’ refers to the children or the younger generation. The elders of the Northland region tell a strange and interesting story to the younger generation. The poet says that he doesn’t think that the story is true, but if he tells the story to the reader, maybe the reader could learn a lesson from it. The story gives an important message. Stanza 4 Once, when the good Saint Peter Lived in the world below, And walked about it, preaching, Just as he did, you know, Saint Peter: an apostle of Christ, a disciple or follower of Jesus Christ Preaching: to give a religious talk The story is about Saint Peter. When Saint Peter used to live in the world and went around, giving religious lectures to the people just like all saints do, then an incident happened. Stanza 5 He came to the door of a cottage, In travelling round the earth, Where a little woman was making cakes, And baking them on the hearth; hearth: fire place where you do cooking When Saint Peter was moving around the world, giving religious lectures to the people, he reached the door of a cottage where a small woman was making cakes. She was baking the cakes in the fireplace. Stanza 6 And being faint with fasting, For the day was almost done, He asked her, from her store of cakes, To give him a single one. faint: to be weak, famished As Saint Peter had not eaten anything the entire day, he was very hungry and was feeling weak. So, he went to this woman who was baking cakes and he asked for one cake out of the many cakes that she had baked. Stanza 7 So she made a very little cake, But as it baking lay, She looked at it, and thought it seemed Too large to give away. The woman was selfish. She did not give cake from her store. Instead, she started making a very small cake for Saint Peter. She did not want to share her things. But, when she put the cake for baking, she looked at it and thought that this cake was too big to be given to someone. Stanza 8 Therefore she kneaded another, And still a smaller one; But it looked, when she turned it over, As large as the first had done. kneaded – to make dough from flour. The little miser woman thought that the cake was too big to be given away. So, she started making another smaller cake. When she looked at that cake, she again felt that it was as big as the previous one. Again, she was not ready to give this smaller cake to Saint Peter . Stanza 9 Then she took a tiny scrap of dough, And rolled and rolled it flat; And baked it thin as a wafer — But she couldn’t part with that.